Closure of Miracle Hot Springs Over Deaths Sparks Fury

The discovery of a body in one of the tubs of the Miracle Hot Springs in California’s Sequoia National Forest has prompted park officials to temporarily close the amenity, sparking outrage from local activists.

The U.S. Forest Service said that the latest body was discovered on February 17 in the same area where another body was found on October 17, 2022. Rangers cited public health and safety concerns as the reason for the closure, which would remain in place “until a sustainable long-term solution is reached.”

But a group established to conserve the hot springs, which they say have been used since 1000 BC and have healing properties, has criticized the decision to close them, citing the springs’ benefit to the local community.

David Carman, president of the Miracle Hot Springs Conservancy, described the actions of the Forest Service as “ridiculous,” telling Newsweek the safety concerns were “malarkey.”

He said the hot springs were “a true treasure” and brought the community together “through inspiring experiences in nature that improve liveability, health, and wellbeing.”

Others involved in the group have written on social media in recent days that the latest death was “an excuse to prohibit use” and that the situation “smells fishy.” The Kern River Hot Springs Angels, an affiliated volunteer group, urged others not to comply with the closure.

However, some local residents suggested that the area was no longer safe.

Alfred Watson, ranger for the Kern River district, defended the decision, telling Newsweek that the U.S. Forest Service was responsible for public safety and that “having two deaths in a short period of time in an area no bigger than a small house footprint is alarming.”

He said the local Forest Service had not been informed of the determined cause of death by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Newsweek reached out to the sheriff’s office via email on Friday for comment.

“The government should not close the hot springs because of the actions of a few people who choose not to be safe and risk their lives or happen to die naturally at the hot springs,” Carman said.

“Miracle Hot Springs is not a safety hazard. People are a safety hazard. Do we close the Kern River because people die? No. Do we close Lake Isabella because people die? No. Do we close highways because people die? No,” he added.

“You can create a safe environment, but if people aren’t safe, there are consequences. You cannot hold the community responsible for the actions of unsafe people.”

Watson said that the argument that rivers or other water bodies are not closed due to public safety or in response to fatalities was “not entirely correct.

“The Kern River was closed last year to swimming by the County due to high flows,” he said. “It is also not a direct comparison. A river is a natural feature that has been in existence for thousands of years. The current tubs were built within the last several months.”

He added: “The U.S. Forest Service is charged with managing this land that is open for public use. The current tubs were built without notification or approval from the U.S. Forest Service.

“Would people think it ok to build a concrete structure in the middle of Yosemite, Yellowstone or Central Park without a response from the managing agency? What if that structure caused people to lose their life? Would that be ok to ignore?”

The hot spring tubs were destroyed by the authorities following the first death, according to The Bakersfield Californian, but reconstructed in 2023.

Carman said the conservancy had an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service that the local community would maintain the hot springs and educate those who used them, which he argued had now been broken. He said the hot springs were “as safe as they can be without having someone on site to manage people and their behaviors.”

Watson said that there had been multiple meetings in the past year-and-a-half to try and “forge a path forward” given the “challenges of managing such a popular area.

“The outcome of those meetings was an agreement that a long-term strategy needs to be implemented,” he added. “One of the options is the tubs would be built again under an approved plan, and a concessionaire or similar entity would be charged with oversight, cleaning and fee collection of the area. This will take time, but it would solve a number of the critical issues.”